Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) regulates cell growth, motility and morphogenesis. HGF binds to proto-oncogene c-Met receptor and activates a tyrosine kinase signaling cascade. HGF precursor is cleaved by serine protease to α (69 kD) and β (34 kD) chains which form a disulfide bond to produce the active heterodimer. HGF NK1 variant is comprised of residues 28-210 containing the N-terminus and the first kringle domain of HGF. HGF NK2 variant is comprised of residues 28-289 containing the N-terminus and the first 2 kringle domains of HGF.
